(By Senators Tomblin (Mr. President) and Buckalew
By Request of the Executive)

____________

[Introduced February 9, 1998; referred to the Committee
on Education; and then to the Committee on Finance.]

____________

A BILL to amend and reenact section five, article two-e, chapter
eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and reenact
section ten, article nine-a of said chapter, all relating to
establishing a process for improving education; providing
legislative intent for establishing a process for standards,
assessment, accountability and capacity building to provide
assurances that a thorough and efficient system of schools
is being provided; requiring the state board to periodically
review and update high quality standards for student, school
and school system performance and processes; requiring a
standard for effective school system participation with
their assigned regional education service agency; requiring
the state board to establish a system of education
performance audits for determining school accreditation and school system approval; holding schools and school systems
accountable for efficient use of existing resources to meet
or exceed standards and targeting additional resources when
necessary; requiring early detection and intervention
programs to help underachieving schools and school systems
to improve performance; providing for creation and operation
of an office of education performance audits under the
direction of the state board independently of the department
of education and the state superintendent; providing certain
duties; allowing the state board discretion in determining
the size of standards compliance review teams for conducting
on-site reviews; providing for establishment of a trained
cadre for selection of review team members; providing for
reimbursement of county boards for substitute costs to
replace employees while serving on review teams; reporting
of findings to state board; providing for school
accreditation and school system approval status; eliminating
probationary accreditation and approval status; requiring
school and school system improvement plans; providing for
temporary accreditation status for below standard schools
and school systems and requiring that improvement plans be
modified and approved by state board; providing conditional
accreditation and conditional approval status for schools
and school systems with an approved improvement plan if they are meeting plan objectives and time lines; requiring
improvement to full accreditation within a date certain to
be specified in the plan; specifying failure to obtain plan
approval and failure to meet plan objectives as
circumstances for seriously impaired or nonapproval status;
providing for state board to appoint a team of improvement
consultants to recommend correction of serious impairments
and nonapproval; requiring temporary approval status for
school systems if progress to correct a seriously impaired
school is not made within six months of receipt of
recommendations from the state board and requiring
consultation and assistance to the county board to make
improvements; requiring correction of a serious impairment
by a date certain as set by the state board; providing for
nonapproval of a school system for failure to correct a
serious impairment by the date certain as set by the state
board; permitting full approval of school systems with
schools on conditional accreditation status; requiring the
state board to declare a state of emergency when school
systems are given nonapproval and to intervene in the school
system if progress to correct the emergency is not made
within six months of receipt of recommendations from the
state board; describing processes for strategically
targeting resources; requiring the state board to make certain recommendations to the Legislature, county boards,
schools and communities on methods for strategically
targeting resources; authorizing the state board to
designate allocations of funds from the general school fund
to address specific improvement needs subject to certain
legislative committee review; and removing balances in the
general school fund from allocation through the allowance to
improve instructional programs.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:That section five, article two-e, chapter eighteen of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted; and that section ten, article
nine-a of said chapter be amended and reenacted, all to read as
follows:

CHAPTER 18. EDUCATION.

ARTICLE 2E. HIGH QUALITY EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS.

§18-2E-5. Process for improving education; office of education
performance audits; education standards; school accreditation and school system approval;
intervention to correct impairments.
(a)Legislative intent. -- The purpose of this section is to
establish a process for improving education that includes
standards, assessment, accountability and capacity building to
provide assurances that a thorough and efficient system of educationschools is being provided for all West Virginia public
school students on an equal education opportunity basis and that
the high quality standards are, at a minimum, being met. A
system for the review of school district education plans,
performance-based accreditation and periodic, random, unannounced
on-site effectiveness reviews of district education systems,
including individual schools within the districts, shall provide
assurances that the high quality standards established in this
section are being met.
(b) High Quality Education Standards. -- On or before the
first day of November, one thousand nine hundred ninety- six,
The state board shall, in accordance with the provisions of
article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, establish
and adopt and periodically review and update high quality
education standards for student, school and school system
performance and processes in the following areas:
(1) Curriculum;
(2) Workplace readiness skills;
(3) Finance;
(4) Transportation;
(5) Special Education;
(6) Facilities;
(7) Administrative practices;
(8) Training of county board members and administrators;
(9) Personnel qualifications;
(10) Professional development and evaluation;
(11) Student and school performance;
(12) A code of conduct for students and employees; and
(13) Any other such areas as determined by the state board.(c) Performance Measures. -- The standards shall assure that
all graduates are prepared for gainful employment or for
continuing post-secondary education and training and that schools
and school districts are making progress in achieving the
education goals of the state. Each school district shall submit
an annual improvement plan designed around locally identified
needs showing how the education program of each school in the
district will meet or exceed the high quality standards. A
performance-based accreditation system shall be the only
statewide system used for accrediting or classifying the public
schools in West Virginia. The state board shall establish a
schedule and shall review each school within a district and each
county board for accreditation based on information submitted to
the board under the performance-based accreditation system as set
forth in subsection (c) of this section.(c) On or before the first day of September, one thousand
nine hundred ninety-six, the state board shall, in accordance
with the provisions of article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of
this code, establish by rule a system which measures the quality of education and preparation of students at each school based on
measures of student and school performance, including, but not
limited to, the following:The standards shall include measures of student performance
when a thorough and efficient system of schools is being provided
and of school and school system performance and processes that
enable student performance. The measures of student performance
and school and school system performance and processes shall
include, but are not limited to, the following: (1) The acquisition of student proficiencies as indicated by
student performance by grade level measured, where possible, by
a uniform statewide assessment program;
(2) School attendance rates;
(3) Student dropout rate;
(4) Percent of students promoted to next grade;
(5) Graduation rate;
(6) Average class size;
(7) Pupil-teacher ratio and number of exceptions to ratio
requested by county boards and number granted;
(8) Number of split-grade classrooms;
(9) Percentage of graduates who enrolled in college; the
percentage of graduates who enrolled in other post-secondary
education; and the percentage of graduates who become fully
employed within one year of high school graduation all as reported by the graduates on the assessment form attached to
their individualized student transition plan, pursuant to section
eight of this article and the percentage of graduates reporting;
(10) Pupil-administrator ratio;
(11) Parent involvement;
(12) Parent, teacher and student satisfaction;
(13) Operating expenditures per pupil;
(14) Percentage of graduates who attain the minimum level of
performance in the basic skills recognized by the state board as
laying the foundation for further learning and skill development
for success in college, other post-secondary education and
gainful employment and the grade level distribution in which the
minimum level of performance was met; and
(15) Percentage of graduates who received additional
certification of their skills, competence and readiness for
college, other post-secondary education or employment above the
minimum foundation level of basic skills; and
(16) Effective school system participation with their
assigned regional education service agency.
(d) Assessment of school and school system performance and
processes. -- The state board of education shall establish by
rule in accordance with the provisions of article three-b,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, a system of education
performance audits which measures the quality of education and the preparation of students based on the standards and measures
of student, school and school system performance and processes,
including, but not limited to, the standards and measures set
forth in subsections (b) and (c) of this section. The system of
education performance audits shall assist the state board in
ensuring that the standards and measures established pursuant to
this section are, at a minimum, being met and that a thorough and
efficient system of schools is being provided. The system of
education performance audits shall include: (1) The assessment
of student, school and school system performance and the
processes in place in schools and school systems which enable
student performance; (2) the review of school and school system
education improvement plans; and (3) the periodic, random
unannounced on-site review of school and school system
performance and compliance with the standards.
(e) Uses of school and school system assessment information.
-- The state board shall use information from the system of
education performance audits to assist it in ensuring that a
thorough and efficient system of schools is being provided and to
improve student, school and school system performance, including,
but not limited to, the following: (1) Determining school
accreditation and school system approval status; (2) holding
schools and school systems accountable for the efficient use of
existing resources to meet or exceed the standards; and (3) targeting additional resources when necessary to improve
performance. Primary emphasis in determining school
accreditation and school system approval status will be based on
student, school and school system performance on annual measures
selected by the state board. The state board shall make
accreditation information available to the Legislature, the
governor, and, subject to the provisions of the freedom of
information act, to the general public and any individuals who
request such information. Based on the assessment of student,
school and school system performance, the state board shall
establish early detection and intervention programs to assist
underachieving schools and school systems to improve performance
before conditions become so grave as to warrant more substantive
state intervention, including, but not limited to, making
additional technical assistance, programmatic, monetary and
staffing resources available where appropriate.
(f) Office of Education Performance Audits. -- To assist the
state board in the operation of the system of education
performance audits and in making determinations of the
accreditation status of schools and the approval status of school
systems, the state board shall establish an office of education
performance audits which shall be operated under the direction of
the state board independently of the functions and supervision of
the state department of education and state superintendent. The office of education performance audits shall report directly to
and be responsible to the state board in carrying out its duties
under the provisions of this section. The office shall be headed
by a director who shall be appointed by the state board and shall
serve at the will and pleasure of the state board. The salary of
the director shall not exceed the salary of the state
superintendent of schools. The state board shall organize and
sufficiently staff the office to fulfill the duties assigned to
it by this section and the state board. Employees of the state
department of education who are transferred to the office of
education performance audits shall retain their benefit and
seniority status with the department of education. Under
direction of the state board, the office of education performance
audits shall receive from the West Virginia education information
system, staff research and analysis data on the performance of
students, schools and school systems, and shall receive
assistance from the state department of education and the state
school building authority staff to carry out the duties assigned
to the office. In addition to other duties which may be assigned
to it by the state board or by statute, the office of education
performance audits shall also:
(1) Review assessment tools, including tests of student
performance and measures of school and school system performance,
and recommend any improvements or additions deemed necessary;
(2) Consider multiple assessments and make recommendations
to the state board as it deems appropriate, including, but not
limited to, a state testing program developed in conjunction with
the state's professional educators with assistance from such
knowledgeable consultants as may be necessary, which may include
criterion referenced tests;
(3) Assure that all statewide assessments of student
performance are secure;
(4) Review all accountability measures, such as the
accreditation and personnel evaluation systems, and recommend to
the state board any improvements or additions deemed necessary;
(5) Administer processes for the accreditation of schools
and the approval of school systems, and recommend appropriate
accreditation and approval action to the state board;
(6) In conjunction with the assessment and accountability
processes, determine what capacity may be needed by schools and
school systems to meet the standards established by the
Legislature and the state board, and recommend to the school,
school system and state board, plans to establish those needed
capacities;
(7) In conjunction with the assessment and accountability
processes, determine whether statewide system deficiencies exist
in the capacity to establish and maintain a thorough and
efficient system of schools, including the identification of trends and the need for continuing improvements in education, and
report those deficiencies and trends to the state board;
(8) In conjunction with the assessment and accountability
processes, determine staff development needs of schools and
school systems to meet the standards established by the
Legislature and the state board, and make recommendations to the
state board, the center for professional development, regional
education service agencies, higher education governing boards and
county boards of education; and
(9) In conjunction with the assessment and accountability
processes, identify exemplary schools and school systems and best
practices that improve student, school and school system
performance, and make recommendations to the state board for
recognizing and rewarding exemplary schools and school systems
and promoting the use of best practices. The state board shall
provide information on best practices to county school systems
and shall use information identified through the assessment and
accountability processes to select schools of excellence.
(g) Accountability process. -- Information on the
performance of students, schools and school systems, the
processes in place in schools and school systems which enable
student performance, and the education improvement plans of
schools and school systems, shall be reviewed by the office of
education performance audits in accordance with rules adopted by the state board. The information from these reviews shall be
submitted annually to the state board to assist it in ensuring
that a thorough and efficient system of schools is provided,
including, but not limited to, determining the accreditation
status of schools and the approval status of school systems. At
the direction of the state board or by random selection by the
office of education performance audits, an unannounced on-site
review shall be conducted by the office of education performance
audits of any school or school system for purposes, including,
but not limited to, the following: (1) Verifying data reported
by the school or county board; (2) documenting compliance with
policies and laws; (3) evaluating the effectiveness and
implementation status of school and school system education
improvement plans; (4) investigating official complaints
submitted to the state board that allege serious impairments in
the quality of education of schools or school systems; and (5)
investigating official complaints submitted to the state board
that allege that a school or county board is in violation of
policies or laws under which schools and county boards operate.
The random selection of schools and school systems for an on-site
review shall use a weighted random sample so that those with
lower performance indicators and those that have not had a recent
on-site review have a greater likelihood of being selected. On- site reviews shall be conducted by an education standards compliance review team appointed by the state board. The teams
shall be composed of an adequate number of persons who possess
the necessary knowledge, skills and experience to make an
accurate assessment of education programs and who are drawn from
a trained cadre established by the office of education
performance audits. The state board shall have discretion in
determining the number of persons to serve on a standards
compliance review team based on the size of the school or school
system as applicable. The teams shall be led by a member of the
office of education performance audits. County boards of
education shall be reimbursed for the costs of substitutes
required to replace county board employees while serving on an
education standards compliance review team. The education
standards compliance team shall report the findings of its
on-site reviews to the state board for inclusion in the
evaluation and determination of a school's or county board's
accreditation or approval status as applicable.(h) School accreditation. -- The state board annually shall
review the information from the system of education performance
audits submitted for each school and shall issue to every school:
(i) Full accreditation status, or (ii) probationarytemporary
accreditation status, conditional accreditation status, or shall
declare the education programs at the school to be seriously
impaired.(1) Full accreditation status shall be given to a school
when the school's performance on the standards adopted by the
state board pursuant to subsections (b) and (c) of this section
above indicators is at a level which would be expected when all
of the high quality education standards are being met.Probationary(2) Temporary accreditation status shall be
given to a school when the measure of the school's performance is
below such levelthe level required for full accreditation
status. Whenever a school is given probationarytemporary
accreditation status, the county board shall implement an
improvement plan which is designedensure that the school's
education improvement plan is revised to increase the performance
of the school to a full accreditation status level. within one
yearThe revised plan shall include objectives, a time line, a
plan for evaluation of the success of the improvements, cost
estimates, and a date certain for achieving full accreditation.
The revised plan shall be submitted to the state board for
approval.
(3) Conditional accreditation status shall be given to a
school when the school's performance on the standards adopted by
the state board is below the level required for full
accreditation, but the school's education improvement plan has
been revised to achieve full accreditation status by a date
certain, the plan has been approved by the state board and the school is meeting the objectives and time line specified in the
revised plan.(d)(4) The state board shall establish and adopt standards
of performance to identify seriously impaired schools and the
state board may declare a school seriously impaired whenever
extraordinary circumstances exist as defined by the state board.These circumstances shall include the failure of a school on
temporary accreditation status to obtain approval of its revised
school improvement plan within a reasonable time period as
defined by the state board and the failure of a school on
conditional accreditation status to meet the objectives and time
lines of its revised school improvement plan or to achieve full
accreditation by the date specified in the revised plan.
Whenever the state board determines that the quality of education
in a school is seriously impaired, the state superintendent, with
approval of the state board, shall appoint a team of three
improvement consultants to make recommendations within sixty days
of appointment for correction of the impairment. Upon approval
of the recommendations by the state board, the recommendations
shall be made to the county board. If progress in correcting the
impairment as determined by the state board is not made within
six months of receipt of the recommendations, the state
superintendent shallstate board shall place the county board on
temporary approval status and provide consultation and assistance to the county board to: (1)(i) Improve personnel management;
(2)(ii) establish more efficient financial management practices;
(3)(iii) improve instructional programs and rules; or (4)(iv)
make such other improvements as may be necessary to correct the
impairment, which may include improvements at the school and/or
school system levels, including, but not limited to, the transfer
or dismissal of personnel, the reallocation of funds, or other
measures necessary to improve student performance. If the
impairment is not corrected within one year of receipt of the
recommendationsby a date certain set by the state board, the
districtcounty board shall be given probationary approval status
or nonapprovalnonapproved status.(e)(i) Transfers from seriously impaired schools. --
Whenever a school is given probationary status or is determined
to be seriously impaired and fails to improve its status within
one year, any student attending such school may transfer once to
the nearest fully accredited school, subject to approval of the
fully accredited school and at the expense of the school from
which the student transferred.(f)(j) School system approval. -- The state board shall
annually review the information submitted for each school system
from the system of education performance audits and issue one of
the following accreditationapproval levels to each county board:
(1) Full approval, (2) conditionaltemporary approval, (3) probationaryconditional approval, or (4) nonapprovalor
nonapproved.(1) Full approval shall be given to a county board whose
education system meets or exceeds all of the high quality
standards for student, school and school system performance and
processes adopted by the state board and whose schools have all
been given full or conditional accreditation status. Full
approval shall be for a period not to exceed four years.Conditional approval shall be given to a county board whose
education system meets at least ninety-five percent of the high
quality standards adopted by the state board and in which at
least ninety percent of the schools have been given full
accreditation status provided no school is seriously impaired.
Conditional approval shall be for a period not to exceed one
year: Provided, That for counties that have fewer than ten
schools, the state board may grant conditional approval without
regard to the ninety percent based on the total quality of the
county education program.(2) Temporary approval shall be given to a county board
whose education system is below the level required for full
approval. Whenever a county board is given temporary approval
status, the county board shall revise its school system
improvement plan to increase the performance of the school system
to a full approval status level. The revised plan shall include objectives, a time line, a plan for evaluation of the success of
the improvements, a cost estimate, and a date certain for
achieving full approval. The revised plan shall be submitted to
the state board for approval.Probationary approval shall be given to a county board whose
education system has met less than ninety-five percent of the
high quality standards, or which has eleven percent or more
schools in the district given probationary status or serious
impairment. Probationary approval is a warning that the county
board must make specified improvements. If the number of schools
in the district given probationary status is not reduced to a
number that would allow full accreditation to be granted in the
following year, the county board shall be automatically given
nonapproval. In addition,(3) Conditional approval shall be given to a county board
whose education system is below the level required for full
approval, but the county's school system improvement plan has
been revised to achieve full accreditation status by a date
certain, the plan has been approved by the state board and the
county board is meeting the objectives and time line specified in
the revised plan.(4)NonapprovalNonapproved status shall be given to a
county board which fails to submit an annual program plan or
fails to demonstrate a reasonable effort to meet the high quality standardsand gain approval of a school system improvement plan
or revised school system improvement plan within a reasonable
time period as defined by the state board or fails to meet the
objectives and time lines of its revised school system
improvement plan or to achieve full approval by the date
specified in the revised plan. The state board shall establish
and adopt additional standards to identify school districts
systems in which the program may be nonapproved ornonapproved
and the state board may issue nonapprovalnonapproved status
whenever extraordinary circumstances exist as defined by the
state board. (g) Whenever nonapprovalnonapproved status is
given to a countyschool system, the state board shall declare a
state of emergency in the district and may intervene in the
operation of the district toschool system and shall appoint a
team of improvement consultants to make recommendations within
sixty days of appointment for correcting the emergency. Upon
approval of the recommendations by the state board, the
recommendations shall be made to the county board. If progress
in correcting the emergency as determined by the state board is
not made within six months of receipt of the recommendations by
the county board, the state board shall intervene in the
operation of the school system to cause improvements to be made
that will provide assurances that a thorough and efficient system
of schools will be provided. This intervention may include, but is not limited to:(1) Limit(i) Limiting the authority of the
county superintendent and county board as to the expenditure of
funds, the employment and dismissal of personnel, the
establishment and operation of the school calendar, the
establishment of instructional programs and rules and such other
areas as may be designated by the state board by rule; (2) take
(ii) taking such direct action as may be necessary to correct the
impairment; and (3) declare(iii) declaring that the office of
the county superintendent is vacant.(h) To assist the state board in determinations of the
accreditation status of schools and the approval status of school
districts under this section, the state board shall from time to
time appoint an education standards compliance review team to
make unannounced on-site reviews of the education programs in any
school or school district in the state to assess compliance of
the school or district with the high quality standards adopted by
the state board, including, but not limited to, facilities,
administrative procedures, transportation, food services and the
audit of all matters relating to school finance, budgeting and
administration.The teams shall be composed of not more than ten persons,
not more than half of whom may be members of or currently
employed by the state board, who possess the necessary knowledge,
skills and experience to make an accurate assessment of such education programs. The education standards compliance team
shall report the findings of its on-site reviews to the state
board for inclusion in the determination of a school's or
district's accreditation or approval status as applicable. The
state board shall encourage the sharing of information to improve
school effectiveness among the districts.The state board shall make accreditation information
available to the Legislature, the governor, the general public
and to any individuals who request such information.(i) The state board shall fully implement the accreditation
system under this article for all schools on the first day of
July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-one, and may pilot test
the system prior to that date. The state board shall adopt rules
in accordance with the provisions of article three-b, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code necessary to implement the provisions
of this article.(k) Capacity. -- The process for improving education is a
process for strategically targeting resources to improve the
teaching and learning process. The school and school system
improvement planning processes are intended as school and school
system mechanisms to strategically target resources to the
teaching and learning process to improve student, school and
school system performance, and shall be required by rules adopted
by the state board. When deficiencies are detected through the assessment and accountability processes, the revision and
approval of school and school system improvement plans shall
ensure that schools and school systems are efficiently using
existing resources to correct the deficiencies. When the state
board determines that schools and school systems do not have the
capacity to correct deficiencies, the state board shall work with
the county board to obtain the resources necessary to increase
the capacity of schools and school systems to meet the standards
and, when necessary, seek additional resources in consultation
with the Legislature and the governor. The school and school
system improvement plan rules adopted by the state board shall
provide avenues for schools and county boards to request and
receive technical assistance in developing their improvement
plans.
The state board shall recommend to the Legislature, county
boards, schools and communities methods for strategically
targeting resources to eliminate deficiencies identified in the
assessment and accountability processes by:
(1) Developing and implementing mechanisms linking
performance, fiscal responsibility and fiscal accountability;
(2) Examining reports and improvement plans regarding the
performance of students, schools and school systems relative to
the standards and identifying the areas in which improvement is
needed;
(3) Determining the areas of weakness that appear to have
contributed to the substandard performance of students and/or the
deficiencies of the school or school system;
(4) Determining the areas of strength that appear to have
contributed to exceptional student, school and school system
performance and promoting their emulation throughout the system;
(5) Requesting technical assistance from the school building
authority in assessing or designing comprehensive educational
facilities plans;
(6) Recommending priority funding from the school building
authority based on identified needs;
(7) Requesting special staff development programs from the
center for professional development, higher education, regional
education service agencies and county boards of education based
on identified needs;
(8) Designating the allocation of balances which accrue in
the general school fund, in addition to any appropriation made
for such purpose, to schools or school systems, or both, to
address specific improvement needs subject to review of the
legislative oversight commission on education accountability. A
designated allocation may include funds for the payment of
stipends or substitute coverage, or both, for identified best
practice schools to enable the staff of the school to share
expertise with another school or school system in an identified area of need; (9) Submitting requests to the Legislature for
appropriations to meet the identified needs for improving
education;
(10) Directing county boards of education to strategically
target their funds toward alleviating deficiencies;
(11) Ensuring that the need for facilities in counties with
increased enrollment are appropriately reflected and recommended
for funding;
(12) Ensuring that the appropriate person or entity is held
accountable for eliminating deficiencies; and
(13) Ensuring that the needed capacity is available from the
state and local level to assist the school or school system in
achieving the standards and alleviating the deficiencies.ARTICLE 9A. PUBLIC SCHOOL SUPPORT.§18-9A-10. Foundation allowance to improve instructional
programs.
(a) For the school year beginning on the first day of July,
one thousand nine hundred ninety-fourninety-eight, and
thereafter, the sum of the allocations shall be in an amount at
least equal to the amount appropriated by the Legislature, in
addition to funds which accrue from balances in the general
school fund, or from appropriations for such purposes:
(1) One hundred fifty thousand dollars shall be allocated to
to each county;
(2) Distribution to the counties of the remainder of these
funds shall be made proportional to the average of each county's
average daily attendance for the preceding year and the county's
second month net enrollment. Moneys allocated by provision of
this section shall be used to improve instructional programs
according to a plan for instructional improvement which the
affected county board shall file with the state board by the
first day of August of each year, to be approved by the state
board by the first day of September of that year if such plan
substantially complies with standards to be adopted by the state
board: Provided, That notwithstanding any other provision of
this code to the contrary, moneys allocated by provision of this
section may also be used in the implementation and maintenance of
the uniform integrated regional computer information system; and
(3) Up to twenty-five percent of this allocation may be used
to employ professional educators and/or service personnel in
counties after all applicable provisions of sections four and
five of this article have been fully utilized: Provided, That
for the school year beginning on the first day of July, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-six, only, up to an additional
twenty-five percent of this allocation may be used to employ
classroom teachers, as defined in section one, article one, chapter eighteen-a of this code, and/or service personnel in
counties after all applicable provisions of sections four and
five of this article have been fully utilized: Provided,
however, That service personnel employed with the additional
twenty-five percent for the school year beginning on the first
day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-six, only, may not
include directors, coordinators or supervisors.
Prior to the use of any funds from this section for
personnel costs, the county board must receive authorization from
the state superintendent of schools. The state superintendent
shall require the district board to demonstrate: (1) The need
for the allocation; (2) efficiency and fiscal responsibility in
staffing; and (3) sharing of services with adjoining counties and
the regional educational service agency for that county in the
use of the total local district board budget. District boards
shall make application for available funds for the next fiscal
year by the first day of May of each year. On or before the
first day of June, the state superintendent shall review all
applications and notify applying district boards of the
distribution of the allocation: Provided, That for the school
year beginning on the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-three, only, the state superintendent shall review
all applications and notify applying district boards of the
distribution of the allocation on or before the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-three. Such funds shall
be distributed during the fiscal year as appropriate. The state
superintendent shall require the county board to demonstrate the
need for an allocation for personnel based upon the county's
inability to meet the requirements of state law or state board
policy: Provided, however, That the funds available for
personnel under this section may not be used to increase the
total number of professional noninstructional personnel in the
central office beyond four. Such instructional improvement plan
shall be made available for distribution to the public at the
office of each affected county board.
(b) Commencing with the school year beginning on the first
day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-three, an amount
not less than the amount required to meet debt service
requirements on any revenue bonds issued prior to the first day
of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-four, and the debt
service requirements on any revenue bonds issued for the purpose
of refunding revenue bonds issued prior to the first day of
January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-four, shall be paid
into the school building capital improvements fund created by
section six, article nine-d of this chapter, and shall be used
solely for the purposes of said article. The school building
capital improvements fund shall not be utilized to meet the debt
services requirement on any revenue bonds or revenue refunding bonds for which moneys contained within the school building debt
service fund have been pledged for repayment pursuant to said
section.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to implement certain
recommendations of the Commission on Educational Quality and
Equity. The 1982 circuit court opinion in Pauley v. Bailey found
the system of schools in West Virginia to violate the thorough
and efficient and equal protection guarantees of the West
Virginia Constitution. A Master Plan for Public Education was
approved by the circuit court in 1983 as a guideline for
correcting these violations. In continuing action in the case
last April before Judge Robinson, the plaintiff's motion that the
court appoint a special master or commissioner to oversee
implementation of the Master Plan was continued to March 16,
1998. The Commission on Educational Quality and Equity was
established in June 1997 under Executive Order 9-97 through
collaboration between the Legislature, the Governor and the West
Virginia Board of Education. The Commission's charge was to
examine the issues raised by the court decisions and craft
solutions within the boundaries of fiscal responsibility that
would build upon and continue the progress underway to improve
the quality and equity of education in West Virginia. The
Commission recommended an update of the Master Plan with a
Process for Improving Education consisting of standards,
assessment, accountability and capacity building. This bill
establishes the core statutory framework for the Process for
Improving Education.

The bill builds upon the current system of school system
plan review, performance-based accreditation and on-site reviews
to create a system of education performance audits. An Office of
Education Performance Audits would assist the State Board in the
operation of the system and would report directly to the State
Board. The intent is to separate the promotion and advocacy
roles of the State Superintendent and West Virginia Department of
Education from the assessment and accountability functions
necessary under the process for improving education to ensure
that existing resources are efficiently targeted to improve
teaching and learning and additional resource needs will be
accurately identified and provided in consultation with the
Governor and the Legislature. The levels of accreditation status of schools and approval status of school systems are modified to
focus more on planning and progress on improving education with
greater assistance by the state board to meet or exceed the state
standards. The State Board is required to intervene in the
operation of a school system if it is below standard, fails to
gain approval or meet the objectives of its local improvement
plan, becomes nonapproved and fails to show progress within six
months on improvement recommendations made to it by the state
board. The time lines established in a school or school system
improvement plan for fully meeting the state standard may exceed
the current one-year limit. The plans are subject to approval by
the State Board. The State Board is given authority to allocate
balances in the General School Fund to meet specific identified
needs. These balances are currently distributed under Step 7 of
the school aid formula along with other appropriations by the
Legislature. The State Board is also required to make other
recommendations to increase the capacity of schools and school
systems to improve student performance.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.